News from around the 32 counties of Ireland

Prior to the start of the monthly town council meeting in Bundoran, Clr. Dermot Doherty (Sinn Féin) demanded that the meeting be suspended until the tricolor was raised on the building.

Clr. Doherty said, “I object to this meeting starting until the [tricolor] is flying over this building and propose that the meeting be suspended for 10 minutes until the [tricolor] is flown.”
[Source: Donegal Democrat]
DOWN

A Newry mother has spoken to the Examiner of her relief that the man who sexually assaulted her teenage daughter and her 16-year-old niece has been convicted of his hideous crimes against the two frightened young girls.

Denis Lancaster is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to serious sexual assault with penetration on a minor and another sexual assault on the sixteen year old without consent. Since carrying out the attacks on the night of October 19, 2010 at a family party, Lancaster has protested his innocence and further compounded the trauma of his victims and their families by attempting to tarnish their reputations with scurrilous lies and insisting that the teenagers instigated the incidents.
[Source: Examiner Newspaper]

DUBLIN

Mothers and young children screamed and fled in terror after a gang of armed raiders held up a busy Dublin post office.

Some 60 customers were in the premise at the time – many of them mothers and their young children, who were off school for the Easter break.

The robbery happened as the women collected their children's allowance money at the Finglas village branch of the post office on Tuesday afternoon.
[Source: Evening Herald]

FERMANAGH

A vital community facility is to get an extensive refurbishment, thanks to $629,000 worth of funding announced for the Kilmacormick Resource Centre in Enniskillen.

Two weeks ago, the Social Development Minister, Nelson McCausland, said the funding boost would be used to cover the capital costs of an extension and refurbishment at the Yoan Road site, and the cost of professional fees for an outside consultant to supervise the building works to completion stage.

The award has been made to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in Enniskillen who will manage the delivery of the entire project.
[Source: Fermanagh Herald]
GALWAY

Management at Galway City Council has tabled a motion for last week's council meeting asking the members to approve the appointment of Brendan McGrath as the new city manager.

The Public Appointments Service had recommended Mr. McGrath, who is currently Meath County Manager.

Prior to his role as Meath County Manager, Brendan McGrath held positions in Kildare, Roscommon, and Wexford County Councils as well as Ballinasloe Town Council.
[Source: Galway Bay FM]
KERRY

Irish adventurers Clare O’Leary and Mike O’Shea have pledged to traverse all of the world’s major ice caps following their successful trek along the length of the frozen Lake Baikal in southeastern Siberia.

The pair from Cork and Kerry, respectively, completed the trek of the 25 million-year-old lake, known as the “Galapagos of Russia,” two weeks ago, and is preparing to return home via Mongolia.

Baikal, which extends over 3.15 million hectares to a depth of 5,500 feet, is the world’s oldest and deepest lake and it holds 20 percent of the planet’s fresh running water.
[Source: Irish Times]

KILDARE

Rumors are rife in Athy that Tegral is to create 30 new jobs thanks to the closure of a sister plant in the U.K.

But the company has moved to dampen the reports and say any suggestion about new jobs is “pure speculation.”

Over the past two weeks, reports have been circulating that the closure of a sister plant in the U.K. would spell good news for Athy and bring the new jobs on stream.
[Source: Kildare Nationalist]
KILKENNY

A Kilkenny activist has already collected 2,000 signatures from members of the public in support of rank and file Gardaí (police), having maintained a solo demonstration and petition on High Street since Saturday, March 30.

Jim Delaney, from Loreto Avenue in the city, has been standing opposite City Hall for hours every day since the weekend. Armed with nothing more than a sign, a pen, two journals, and a copy of the Kilkenny People, he has seen an almost universal support for his cause.

His message is simple: allow the Gardaí to represent and defend their interests, lift the recruitment embargo, and let more Gardaí get back on the beat. He also says that a number of Gardaí have privately expressed support for his campaign.
[Source: Kilkenny People]

LAOIS

A Laois county councilor is calling for one of the worst areas of dumping in the county to be cleaned up.

The Rushes Inn, a derelict pub on the N78, has been a hotspot for dumping over the last number of years.